Tuesday, 5 July 2011

Secretary Bird

Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

Its common name is popularly thought to derive from the crest of long quill-like feathers, lending the bird the appearance of a secretary with quill pens tucked behind his or her ear, as was once common practice. A more recent hypothesis is that "secretary" is borrowed from a French corruption of the Arabic saqr-et-tair or "hunter-bird". (Wikipedia)
The long legs, which increases the bird’s height to around 1.3 m tall, help him catching his favourite prey: snakes.
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